SUNY Poly to host regional business plan contest semifinal in April

UTICA, N.Y. — SUNY Polytechnic Institute will host the New York Business Plan Competition’s Mohawk Valley regional semifinal with Hartwick College and its new Innovation Center partnering to co-direct the in-person event on April 14.

The competition promotes entrepreneurial opportunities for college students across the region when they pitch their business plans for the chance to win cash prizes of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second, and $500 for third place. It also gives the chance to engage with mentors and judges from the business community.

Mohawk Valley teams have until Feb. 19 to apply for the competition. Regional semifinals are scheduled for late March through mid-April, with the statewide finals set for April 27 in Syracuse.

Interested students should submit their business plans for one of the following tracks:

• Safety, power, and mobility — defense, energy first responder, infrastructure, mobility and transportation.
• Health and wellbeing — health IT, life science, MedTech, wellbeing.
• Food and AgTech — agricultural technology, food product, food service.
• Learn, work and play — education, entertainment, gaming, media, art
• Products and hardware — for ventures that don’t fit into other tracks.
• Software and services — for ventures that don’t fit into other tracks.
• Regional competitions take place across 10 different regions around the state.

Those applying should complete the online registration form.

The top 12 teams from the regions advance to the finals, which take place April 18-24 online. The top six teams compete in the finals April 27 for a grand price of $25,000.

More information about the competition is available at https://nybpc.org/students2023.